One Piece pirates salty life

"Just call me Captain Kuro."

Kuro's voice was calm and cold. Despite the changes he noticed in Kaya, changes he couldn't quite understand, he didn't waver. His plan was already set in motion, and he wasn't about to abandon it now.

"For the past three years, I've lived under a mask. There's no need for me to continue pretending now. You should know very well—I hold the upper hand!"

Bang!

The [Espada] in Kuro's left hand slashed forward with deadly precision. It met Kaya's cane mid-air, colliding with a sharp metallic clang. But to Kuro's shock, his weapon shattered upon impact.

"That's not how I intended the cane I gave you to be used," said a voice calmly behind Kaya.

It was Leo. He had one hand gently resting on Kaya's arm, eyes glancing at the fragments of the shattered Espada.

"It seems you're far weaker than I imagined. Still clinging to your fake persona from the past three years?"

Kuro's face contorted in anger. That moment of contact—it told him everything. The force behind the cane had almost broken his arm. If the Espada hadn't snapped, he'd be the one with broken bones.

"I once heard a saying," Leo continued, his voice clear and unforgiving. "'Put down your butcher's knife, and you will become a Buddha.' Sounds nice, doesn't it? But really, it's just something cowards tell themselves to feel better."

"Forgiveness… is something only the victims can give. All I can do is send you to join the ones you've already murdered."

Kuro's expression darkened. He had killed many, long before his seclusion. Those deaths could not be undone with words or repentance. And Leo had no intention of letting him walk away.

In the next instant, Leo vanished.

Kuro's pupils contracted sharply. That speed— it was faster than his own silent step technique.

"You've committed crimes. It's time you paid the price!"

Crack!

Leo's leg crashed hard into Kuro's waist. A sickening sound of bones shattering echoed through the air. Kuro's body arched in pain, blood spraying from his mouth as he was flung backward—straight toward where Luffy had been lying.

Kuro couldn't comprehend it. Where did Leo, a man who looked more like a magician than a fighter, get such monstrous strength? His physical power was beyond anything a normal person should possess.

Bang!

His body hit the rock wall with a heavy thud, sending dust and debris flying. His back was crushed against the stone, and he slumped forward, coughing violently.

"Agh… Who… who are you?" he growled, trying to stand. "There's no one like you in all of East Blue!"

Leo stood calmly on the slope, looking down at him with thinly veiled contempt. "Leo. Vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."

Kuro blinked, trying to process the name. "Straw Hat Pirates? Hah! Don't insult my intelligence. You just made that up!"

"No, he didn't!" came a loud voice.

Luffy, who had just woken up from all the noise, stood tall and beaming. "He's telling the truth! I'm the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

Kuro's eye twitched. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" he said with a bright grin. "And I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"

Kuro snarled. "Nonsense. It doesn't matter who you are. If I kill you all now, my plan can still succeed!"

Suddenly, his other hand raised, gripping a second [Espada]. His eyes gleamed with madness.

"You may be strong, but once I unleash that technique, no one will survive!"

Several pirates nearby turned pale. "Wait! He's going to use that move?!"

"We have to get out of here! We'll be caught in it too!"

They tried to scramble to their feet. Most had been knocked down by Nami earlier and were only now regaining some strength. But none of them had the courage to stick around once they realized what Kuro was about to do.

Meanwhile, Nami had already snuck aboard the Black Cat Pirates' ship earlier that morning. With Leo holding the line, she felt safe enough to focus on her true priority—treasure.

Now, she staggered out of the ship, barely able to carry the large bag of loot on her back. She paused for a moment and looked toward the battlefield with satisfaction. "Good. Leo's got things under control."

Back on the slope, chaos erupted.

Screech!

Long claw marks began to appear everywhere. On the ground. On the cliffside. Even on the bodies of Kuro's own pirates. Their skin, already charred from previous attacks, now oozed blood from deep, fresh gashes.

Luffy's expression grew tense. He could take some hits, sure—but not even he could stay unharmed if he wasn't careful.

"Captain Kuro, please stop!!"

"Don't do this! We're your comrades!!"

But Kuro didn't stop. His [Espada] moved on their own, slashing wildly in every direction. The attacks were blind, brutal, and indiscriminate.

Su Chen—no, Leo—watched with a furrowed brow. The irony wasn't lost on him. The very pirates who followed Kuro were now being torn apart by the man they trusted. They deserved punishment, yes—but this?

Even Luffy had had enough. His fists clenched.

"You bastard…"

To Luffy, crewmates were everything. The thought of treating them as disposable cannon fodder was something he couldn't accept.

"Come out, Butler!!"

Luffy's voice rang out over the battlefield.

"What do you think of your companions, huh?!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the random attacks stopped. The claw marks vanished. All the slashes began converging… toward Luffy.

Leo stood beside Kaya, trying to recall how Kuro was defeated in the original version of this timeline. Something about this scene felt off. Kuro was too fast—Luffy couldn't keep up.

Then he remembered.

In the original story, Luffy had taken Kuro's claw head-on and caught him mid-attack. It was a reckless move—one that left Luffy badly injured, but it worked.

Leo's eyes narrowed.

No way was he going to let Luffy get hurt.

With a swift flick of his fingers, he conjured a thin magical shield over Luffy's chest.

Tear!

Kuro's [Espada] slashed across Luffy's shirt, inches from his skin—but stopped the moment it met Leo's shield. The force of the block caused Kuro's movement to falter for just a second.

That one second was all Luffy needed.

"GOT YOU!"

He lunged forward, grabbed Kuro mid-air, twisted, and slammed him into the ground with bone-breaking force.

BOOM!

The slope cracked from the impact. Kuro's bones cried out in pain. His body went limp.

Especially his waist, which Leo had shattered earlier—it now felt completely numb.

His glasses flew off and landed several feet away.

Silence fell.

A breeze rolled across the battlefield, rustling the grass and the shredded clothes. The pirates were either unconscious or in full retreat. Kaya stood silently beside Leo, her eyes wide, hands trembling—not from fear, but from the intense emotion swelling in her chest.

Luffy stood up, panting slightly, but smiling. "That felt good."

Leo crossed his arms and exhaled slowly. "That should keep him down."

"Hey Leo," Luffy said, turning to him. "Thanks. You saved me back there."

Leo nodded. "You're my captain. I won't let anyone touch you."

Kaya stepped forward, her voice quiet. "Thank you. Both of you. If you hadn't come…"

Leo looked at her and smiled gently. "You're strong too, Kaya. You held your ground."

She looked down at the broken cane in her hand, then up at the two pirates who had changed everything.

For the first time, she felt the stirrings of something new—hope.